guilar is an American company
based in New York that makes top-
notch amps, preamps, cabinets and
combos. Aguilar also makes
electronics which are used by several
big-name custom builders of
instruments and equipment. Aguilar’s
gear is held in high regard in the
industry and by those who use it,
including the likes of Jason Newstead,
Tom Hamilton and Neil Dorfsman.
AG 500 bass head
The AG 500 is a very versatile and
portable amplifi er, chock-full of
practical functions. The unit weighs
barely over 8kg and is the size of a
(large) briefcase, yet it can still blow
out 500W into 4 Ohms or 250W into 8
Ohms. The AG 500 has two channels
that can be changed using a footswitch;
there is a single 1/4in jack input with a
button allowing you to cut the signal of
a high-output instrument by 10dB.
Channel 1 has a crystalline tone, with
the input signal controlled by a gain pot
in addition to the master volume. There
are four bands of active EQ, with knobs
for treble, high-mid, low-mid and bass. If
that’s not enough, there are also two
pushbutton boost controls: ‘bright’,
giving you a 5dB shelf above 4kHz, and
‘deep’, a 6dB shelf below 100Hz.
Channel 2 has an adjustable, warmer,
tube-like sound that you can push to
downright dirty overdrive. There is no
gain control, output level is controlled by
the master volume. The level of
overdrive is controlled by the ‘saturation’
pot: when it’s on minimum you get an
ever-so-slight fuzz. The more you give it
the dirtier it gets, just like a good
groupie. The sound of channel 2 is
controlled by three-band passive
shelving EQ, and also has a boost control
(‘deep’, as above), plus two additional
pots – contour and presence.
The FX loop consists of 1/4in send
and return jacks with adjustable send
output and an adjustable return. There
is also a return boost which increases
the level by 8dB if using line/instrument
level equipment. With the push or pull
of a pot you also have the option to run
the loop in series or parallel.
There is a cool DI setup that gives you
the choice of sending pre or post signal
to the XLR output jack by simply
pushing a button – basically you can
send your instrument sound directly out
with only the -10dB input pad coming
into play, or send the amp’s sounds and
EQ out. There is also a lift/ground button
that may help get rid of any excessive
hums when using the DI output.
There is a choice of 2 x 1/4in jacks or
2 x Speakon outputs available on the
back of the unit. They are wired in
parallel so any combination is possible
to use providing the load does not
exceed 4 ohms. There is also a single
1/4in tuner output that remains active
when the amp is muted.
The footswitch enables you to change
from channel to channel and also allows
you to mute the amplifi er. Each switch
has a clearly visible LED indicator to let
you know what channel you’re using
and when you’re muted.
SOUNDS:
I tried the Aguilar rig out in
next to my trusty 2 x 12 JBL cabinet and
Peavey MkIV head. I also interchanged
the equipment for a better comparison.
The JBL bin found a new lease of life
when run with the AG 500 head and
similarly, the GS 410 sounded great with
the Mk IV. But when played side by side;
Top end hardware to make your bottom end sting
by Claude S Fonseca
AG 500 & GS 410
TEST RESULTS
■
WE LIKED
A match made in heaven:
huge power, stacks of control, and of course
the sound is divine
■
WE DISLIKED
The weight of the cabinet
A
Aguilar AG 500 &
GS 410
$2999 & $2699
AGUILAR AG 500 & GS 410
$2999 & $2699
BASS AMPS
126
APRIL / MAY 2005
GITA002_126_aguilar.indd 126
GITA002_126_aguilar.indd 126
29/1/05 10:29:16 AM
29/1/05 10:29:16 AM
